This invention relates to assigning ownership for content in a content management system. An enterprise content management system (ECMS) supports organizing, managing, and publishing of content (e.g. electronic documents, audio files, video files). Each instance of content stored in the ECMS is assigned an owner. The content owner may have certain responsibilities for the content, such as providing editorial oversight, maintaining an access list, and performing workflow processes (e.g. reviewing, approving, publishing, updating). Content ownership may become invalid, and need to be transferred to a replacement owner, when the owner is no longer available, or responsible for the content. Content ownership may become invalid for a number of reasons including: change of employment, change of positions for the same employer, business changes, or extended absence. Generally, a replacement owner is not assigned until some action is needed on the content. This need for a content owner may not arise until a substantial period of time after the ownership becomes invalid. Even if the previous owner is still available, that owner may no longer have the knowledge to properly determine a replacement owner. Further, the time it takes to determine a replacement owner causes an unnecessary delay in processing the content. Thus, there is a need to determine a replacement content owner in a timely and well-ordered fashion.